Urkontinent is a Belgian-style dubbel that begins with Pilsner, Munich and Chocolate malts and Belgian Dark Candi syrup.

Then we add unique ingredients from around the world: Wattleseed from Australia imparts chocolate, coffee and hazelnut notes to the beer. Toasted amaranth from South America gives it an earthy, grainy flavor and a little additional roast flavor. Green rooibos from Africa contributes a floral aroma and slight astringency. Myrica gale from Europe supplements the bitterness from minimal hopping. Hiveplex Honey from California adds a subtle sweetness while maintaining the dry finish.

The careful combination of all these ingredients creates a complex, dark Belgian-style ale with wonderful coffee and chocolate-covered cherry flavors. The roastiness of the malt and wattleseed melds with the fruity esters from the yeast, the floral notes from the rooibos, and the malty yet dry signature of a Belgian dubbel. Urkontinent is perfect to enjoy with friends as the weather begins to cool.

Reviews by madEthelFlint:

More User Reviews:

Poured into a chalice a somewhat murky looking russet brown with a 1/2 finger off white head atop.Alot going on in the nose with toasted nuts,vanilla,earthiness,and floral notes,alot of complexity with all the components coming together well.Slightly medicinal on the palate with earthy tones,a little burnt flavor underneath along yeasty spice.This is a unique beer no doubt about that,alot going on and it goes off pretty well.

A: An average pour results in a large tan head of about two fingers of compact bubbles. The beer appears like a black stout sitting on the table but when held to the light reveals a medium garnet with excellent clarity. The very long lasting head leave belgian lacing on the glassS: The initial aromas are of coffee and malt aromas of dark fruit like figs and dried cherries. The coffee aroma quickly goes away letting aromas of toast, grain and a perfumey alcohol softness come through. There also a light floral aroma in there that is different from the usual european floral hops type of aroma.T: The dark malt flavors of figs and dried cherries are predominate the initial sip with a hints of funky things going on along with a bit of earthiness. The a light hint of the roobos tea coming through. There is a almost a round malt sweetness that never becomes sweet by the balance of a bitterness that isn't derived from hops nor dark malt with a dry finish. It sort of a herbal bitterness that you'd find in a some teas. M: It has a medium body and medium-light carbonation with a slight astringency.O: A complex and unusual beer that is still very approachable with the unusual additions supporting and enhancing the character. It's a had beer to categories as it's almost a belgian dubbel with the belgian yeast characteristics coming from the ingredients and not belgian yeast.

Urkontinent opens with a malty, grain-heavy nose that is immediately reminiscent of wet wheat fields, fresh-brewed light roast coffee, floury baguette, and toast crust. Mixed in with these is a touch of caramel, wildflower honey, and brown sugar, which add a light, but pleasing sugary note. Touches of pepper add spice, and an almost burnt-grain aroma lingers at the brew’s outer edges, adding pizzazz. There’s also a strange fruit/grain aroma that is somewhat reminiscent of berries and spiced bread, which I’m assuming comes from one of the beer’s strange assortment of ingredients (wattle seed, amaranth, rooibos, and myrica gale), none of which I’m familiar enough with to know how they affect beverages. As a whole, the nose is certainly interesting, with layers and layers of grain aromas mixed with just enough sugars and peppery spices to nicely balance everything out. I can’t say the nose is exactly stunning, but it is most certainly above the average fare, with room to spare.

On the tongue, the beer opens with a peppery bread note, followed immediately by a wave of wildflower honey, caramel, and brown sugar. Floury baguette and toast notes follow, joined by the initial flavors that I’m again assuming come from the beer’s less familiar ingredients. Here the beer takes on some kola nut properties, as well as strange and wild grain notes that are somehow full of white pepper, light jasmine, and berry all at once. The beer is nicely balanced between these sweet and grain notes, with light touches of pepper and pine for spice and bitterness. Late in the mouthful the sugary notes take on a lemon-berry quality. The aftertaste is mainly grains, though some sugars do remain, and lingers on the tongue for a decent time. Mouthfeel is medium, and carbonation is medium.

Overall, this is good brew, and Dogfish Head’s usual strange assortment of ingredients works very nicely here to complement the standard malt-and-hop notes, building on them and adding nuance much like upgrading an already-nice house with new furnishings and appliances. This doesn’t mean the beer is necessarily outstanding, for while it does present an unusual and delicious variety of flavors, the beer lacks that certain something that makes it truly stand out from the field. Thus, instead of finding yourself in, say, a Ferrari, Urkontinent comes across as a nicely dealer-upgraded Chevy Camaro: a very nice car, but not quite at the top of the field. Still, it is Dogfish Head, and thus in the end I highly doubt many will find themselves disappointed. Worth trying.

Dark brown to mahogany in color. A thin bit of khaki colored head covers part of the top of the beer. Brussels lacing. I get mainly notes of chocolate,honey, and rooibos within the nose., but it is a bit overwhelmingly sweet. The mouth is a bit sticky and yet creamy. The taste is very malty and sweet with a dry malted finish.

Interesting beer especially when you have to wikipedia most of the ingredients listed on the label, pours a beautiful deep ruby crimson color with deep mahogany highlights. Light beige tan highlights, fine speckled lacing with accents that last for days. A beautiful looking beer, a gracefully sculpted masterpiece of a beer. Aromas of toasted nuts, dark chocolate, minimal coffee notes bring out intriguing dark fruit components. Flavors combine with alcohol, dark fruit, toasted coconut, green tea complex notes, a really wide array of flavors pretty nice beer in my glass. Kind of happy about that, wow, it's interesting. Cohesive forces brought this beer together I understand what they are doing with another Pangea concept, it works to be creative by taking ingredients from different continents and making them work. Mouthfeel is medium bodied ale with a dry oak finish, doesn't make sense for there to be a wood finish but there is and it's delicious. Overall, impressive work of art in the beer realm that I fully enjoyed.

Darker than a typical dubbel, this one's a dark brown rather than the usual orange-to-red range. It's opaque despite its darker color, with lots of clarity. A small, almost pure white head comes up, reaching almost one finger, but it quite creamy and dense. Lacing is spotty but plentiful.There's a lot going on in this beer. The nose does hold the nutty and chocolaty notes promised, with a strong earthy note as well. The earthiness even includes a bit of peat or soil to it. A touch of coffee comes out with the roastiness. There's a note of something translating almost to metallic. A bit of dark fruits come out in the flavor, where the metallic note falls off. Some woods and a little spiciness pull out as well.The body is pretty rich and quite full, rounding out to a medium nearing full. It's perhaps a bit much for a dubbel, though not bad. There's a bit of a stickiness. It nears cloying in its sweetness even as alcohol pulls through the finish.

An interesting beer, fresh from Premiere Gourmet. Pours dark, above average mouthfeel, good drinkability. A sipper, great after the fish. Flavours: Chocolate, chicory roast,mollasses, lots of hops, a little yeast, honey finish.Earthy, well carbonated.

750ml Bottle, aged for few months before tasting.Pouring dark brown with some mahogany and red tones, somewhat clear not to hazy. Nice off-white creamy head of ½ inch thick.N- Caramel, cocoa, dark fruits/red fruits, honey, roasted grain.M&T- Surprisingly not too heavy! Medium to full bodied beer. Carbonation is medium and bitterness is just great. Something if floral here and it is pleasant. Definitively on the sweet side like the Belgian dubbel, very reminiscent of those Flander’s brown ale. Alcohol warmth is present becoming more intense while rewarming. Flavours of caramel, nuts,roasted grains, dates, toast, watermelon (?!). Aftertaste reveals tea like flavours. Very complex in flavours, Overall, a challenging beer that well deserve sharing with a buddy rather than drinking it on your own, simply for having inputs to from your friends on the brew and having the pleasure to “decorticates” a challenging beer. A very good beer from DFH.

This is a very smooth, balanced, rich Dubbel. I had never heard of any of these ingredients before this beer, but after reading the description and giving this beer a try, I can see how all the flavors blend nicely with the Dubbel style. This is definitely a beer worth trying. It was very enjoyable.

Deep reddish brown with a finger and a half of offwhite head. Good retention and lace.

Nose is earthy with present Dogfish house yeast.

Taste is interesting-- mostly a dry earthiness or woodiness and a trace of licorice at the finish. I kinda get the rooibos, but that's a subtle, flattish flavor anyway. Similar in a way to Bitches Brew, but lighter, drier.

Pretty bright and fizzy.

Neat. Not worth the price or hype, but good and an interesting take on interesting ingredients.

Appearance: A typical look for a belgian strong dark ale, in the lighting at the restaurant it seemed almost black with hints of amber at the edges. Very little lacing, not much happening with the appearance.

Smell: Way more going on than I could even place. No discernible hop aroma, but chocolate, coffee, and even a little peanut smell came through.

Taste: Really, really unique flavor, complex flavor profile starting with a burnt caramel malt and rapidly moving through to a variety of flavors I can't even place, though there was definitely chocolate, coffee, and a hint of toffee in the after taste, with a bit of peat flavor in the middle.

Mouthfeel: For a beer this heavy on the malts it was very drinkable- not too heavy, not to thick, just right.

Overall: It had been hyped up to me quite a lot, and it was certainly unique, but it wasn't anything that special. An above average beer, but that's about it.